AST implements SAP HR solution for City Power Johannesburg

AST ERP Solutions, a business unit of the JSE-listed AST Group, in alliance with Ndizani Consulting, has implemented a SAP R/3 HR solution for City Power Johannesburg, providing the SAP HR modules, FI integration and change management. The project, which took five months to implement, has a value of R5.3 million.

City Power Johannesburg is 100% owned by the City Of Johannesburg and is responsible for the distribution of electricity in the Johannesburg municipal area. The organisation`s Corporate Services division required a solution that would meet its human resources and payroll needs, allowing it to provide a world-class, professional service to the company.

"In order to provide a world-class service to City Power as a whole, Corporate Services realised that a world-class system would have to be acquired, a system that would be capable of meeting the company`s business requirements and its expectations, and that would provide the functionality and the tools required by the human resources team to make it more effective," explains Roy Smith, Transformation Executive Consultant for City Power Johannesburg.

The project team of 22 comprised members of AST and Ndizani Consulting, an alliance that was formed for the purpose of the implementation as part of AST`s strategy to empower BEE companies.

"Although AST could have completed the implementation on its own with a smaller number of people, we saw this as an excellent opportunity to provide personal skills development in this vital field," explains Guilluame Snyders of AST ERP Solutions. With the co-operation of City Power, the consortium was able to use this project to train and develop junior Ndizani staff, to the point where the Ndizani staff are now able to deal with an implementation such as this without any outside assistance.

Ndizani is a provider of IT infrastructure, software consulting and contact centre services for local and international clients. The organisation provides solutions for the Internet platform, covering infrastructure deployment and management, software and systems consulting, as well as outsourcing contact centre management. Ndizani is well-positioned in the ERP arena and has established relationships with key ERP vendors in SA.

"The success of this venture is astonishing and proves that the AST model for enabling black economic empowerment can and does work, creating real and sustainable economic empowerment by means of co-operation and the transfer of usable skills," concludes Snyders.